The Observer's Ghost: a field-space connection-form and its application to gauge theories and general relativity
Mathematical Physics
2017-06-26 v2 General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
High Energy Physics - Theory
math.MP
Abstract
We introduce a functional covariant differential as a tool for studying field space geometry in a manifestly covariant way. We then touch upon its role in gauge theories and general relativity over bounded regions, and in BRST symmetry. Due to the Gribov problem, we argue that our formalism ---allowing for a non-vanishing functional curvature---is necessary for a global treatment of gauge-invariance in field space. We conclude by suggesting that the structures we introduce satisfactorily implement the notion of a (non-asymptotic) observer in gauge theories and general relativity.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.1608.08226,
title = {The Observer's Ghost: a field-space connection-form and its application to gauge theories and general relativity},
author = {Henrique Gomes and Aldo Riello},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1608.08226},
year = {2017}
}
Comments
17 pages + appendix and references v2 includes more discussion on the meaning of the field space connection in the path integral